Family (Sequel to After Advent Children)
by Adolis
Summary: I didn't want to potentially bore anyone with these extra tid-bits, so I'm putting all of the extras I had in this new story. There is no specific time-line. It's just various shorts of the Strife family and what things go on in their lives :)
1. Family

Hello! Sorry for the wait (again...) but I have the next few chapters all more or less hammered out, so all I need to do is make sure I get time to go through and edit and post!

* * *

Family

* * *

Cloud called Cid and hoped that the time difference was enough for the pilot to be awake.

"Yello?" Cid called into the phone. In the background was the unmistakable cacophony of Cid's workshop.

"It's Cloud. I need you to fly me somewhere."

"You should know better than to ask me to cart your ass around for your damn delivery service, Strife!" Cid yelled over the noise.

"It's not for a delivery. I need you to take me to the Northern Crater."

"The hell you goin' there for? It ain't for the scenery, I know."

"Tifa and I need more money than my deliveries and the bar make, so I was going to go take out some magic pots."

There was a pause from the other end, "You know, you're allowed to say that Tifa's finally pregnant, idjit."

Cloud sighed, "Just come get me soon. And don't tell anyone about Tifa, she wants to make sure there aren't any problems with the pregnancy before she lets anyone know."

"Got it. Mums the word. Where am I picking you up?"

"West of Midgar. I'm heading out now, but I'm going to get Goldie from the Chocobo farm first. Thanks for doing this for me."

"You give Teef and Jr. a good kiss bye! I'll meet you in two hours," Cid laughed before hanging up the phone.

Cloud sighed. He walked back up to his and Tifa's room. His wife was still sleeping soundly. Apparently all of the mako Cloud and Tifa had been exposed to had interfered with both of their ability's to have children. Not that either parent was very surprised by that turn of events. Cloud leaned down and gave Tifa a kiss and stroked her soft hair, "Sorry I can't tell you, but you need the extra money more than you need me at the moment, and we both know that you wouldn't let me go if I asked. I promise to call as much as I can, Teef."

Cloud rubbed her belly, not yet showing signs of the child she carried, "Don't give your mom too much trouble," he whispered. He gave Tifa one more kiss and put his note on the bedside table, then hurried downstairs and into the garage. He pushed Fenrir out into the street before starting it and tearing off into the night.

* * *

"Hey, pops!" Cid hollered as soon as Cloud got up into the airship, "How do you feel?"

Cloud frowned and rubbed his elbow, looking back in the direction of Edge. "Not like a father. I feel horrible for leaving Tifa and the baby, but I need to get money now before it's born. When the baby arrives, I need to be here to help Tifa with the delivery and taking care of everything."

Cid smiled, "I think you'll be fine."

Cloud turned back to Cid and shook his head, "I'm not too sure. I'm a damn science experiment! That's gotta be bad for the baby somewhere."

The pilot's face fell, "Damn, you're really thinking too hard about this."

"I am?"

"Yeah. She's already pregnant, so anything genetically wrong with the kid's set, so don't worry about it. Just love the kid when it pops out."

Cloud thought for a moment. "Yeah... Thanks, Cid."

"What're friends for if not kicking each other's asses in gear?" Cid answered.

Cloud smirked and shrugged, "Not much, I guess."

Cid headed into the ship, "Well, let's go get you some cash. Make sure that bird stays in the Chocobo room this time. Damn near wrecked my ship when it got loose before."

Cloud clicked his tongue and tugged at the golden Chocobo's reins, gently leading it inside.

* * *

Cloud waved as Cid left in the airship, then he started towards the crater where he would pitch his tent. About the time he was done, Cloud's cell phone rang. Despite his good reason for leaving, the blond was apprehensive about answering the call from his wife. He answered the phone.

"He-"

"Where are you?" Tifa asked before Cloud could get a word in. "I thought you didn't have any deliveries right now?"

"I'm at the Northern Crater," Cloud replied bluntly. Best to get it over with. He cringed, sensing the waves of growing disapproval and anger emanating from the other end of the line.

"…You're _where_?"

"The Northern Crater," Cloud said somewhat meekly. Ohh, he was in for it now. He grimaced at the appropriate harshness in Tifa's voice.

"_Why_."

Cloud fiddled with the ring on his finger, "You didn't read my note?"

"_No_, I didn't read your _note._ _You _were _gone_ when I woke up, so I had to try and get _everything ready by myself_ before the bar opened. You'd better have a _damn_ good reason to be out where Hell meets Gaia."

There it was! Cloud's chance at redemption! "I'm collecting Magic Pots. I'm sending the money to you on Goldie at the end of the week."

Tifa was speechless. There was silence on the other end of the phone while she searched for what to say. "…Cloud…that's…incredibly sweet…and stupid of you…but I need you here more than I need money. Come home."

Cloud started breathing normally again at the dissipated anger in Tifa's voice. "I'll make sure to stay in touch, Tifa, but I'm going to stay here for a while and build up a good financial base for our family. You've been having trouble ever since the Blood Bullets wrecked everything, and kids aren't exactly known for being financial investments. If anything happens with the pregnancy, just let me know and I'll be home as soon as possible."

"Cloud, I-" Tifa held the phone away from her, "Hello! Take a seat anywhere and I'll be right over!" she brought the phone back to her mouth, "I have to go, but I want to talk this through. I don't want you to lose track of time and miss the baby being born."

"I wouldn't miss that for the world, no matter how many fractures my hand endures."

"Ha, ha. How clever of you. Bye, Cloud. We'll finish this talk later."

"Yeah, I'll talk to you later, babe," Cloud smiled and hung up the phone and sighed a breath of relief. He could go home at the end of this _and_ live if he played his cards right.

* * *

Despite Tifa's original apprehensions about Cloud disappearing for seven months, she had to admit that they had needed the extra money he was sending in every other week. Back when the Blood Bullets and the other gangs were at large, Cloud and Tifa's finances were more or less been wiped out, and they were still struggling to get back to a more secure spot in the market. Now with a baby on the way, Tifa had been worrying about the extra expenses that came with the tiny bundle of joy.

There was a familiar tap on the door a few months after Cloud's departure, and Tifa opened it to let her avian bank come in. She guided the bird over to the sink and ran some water for Goldie to drink while Tifa took its bag to the back room. She emptied Cloud's 11th package; inside was 212,350 Gil. Tifa whistled, Cloud must have found a nest of them or something. Tifa called Reeve and let him know what Cloud had just sent in and Reeve arranged to have it taken care of.

Tifa's uterus suddenly seized around a scar in itself as the baby wriggled. Tifa gasped and gripped the edge of the counter, biting her lip. She whimpered, but the pain ebbed with each beat of her rapidly pumping heart. Tifa rubbed her extending belly, "You need to be nicer while you're living in me, baby," she sighed. Who would have thought that Sephiroth did so much damage all those years ago? Despite having nearly been killed by the man (several times, in fact), Tifa never would have thought that Sephiroth had cut her uterus. Her hatred for the man redoubled every time her body would spasm around the scars inside of her.

"Tifa? Are you okay?" Marlene asked, peeking into the room, "Papa told me to check on you because you'd been gone a while."

Tifa smiled at the girl, "I'm fine, sweetie. You go tell Barret to stop being such a worry-wart."

Marlene giggled and trotted from the room. Mrs. Strife came into the room and glanced at Tifa's stomach, "Growing pains again?"

Tifa sighed. "Yeah. I don't know what to do to help. But I'm afraid that the baby's not growing right. I'm smaller than most women are at my stage of pregnancy, and the ultra sounds couldn't see well through the scar tissue."

Mrs. Strife's brow furrowed in empathy before leading Tifa over to the couch and sitting down with her, "Well, when I was having some trouble with Cloud -he was a rather kicky thing- the other women in town told me to take a nice bath. The warm water will loosen the tightness in your abdomen. Also, who doesn't love a good bath? You could also try a heating pad or hot water bottle. Basically, think of the ways you get rid of period cramps. And as for the baby not growing as much as others; you and Cloud both were small little things when you were born, so your baby likely got that from you. Consider it a blessing Tifa, believe me. Johnny's mother looked like she was having triplets when she was full-term with him. A 12 pound baby, while considered healthier, is very little other than misery for the mother."

Tifa laughed, "But Johnny was always so much shorter than me growing up! Thank you. This helped me a lot, and I'll definitely be using your bath idea this evening. But for now, I just have to hope that Cloud's kicky-ness didn't transfer down to his kid."

Mrs. Strife smiled and stood before walking with Tifa back to the front of the bar.

A bit after closing, Denzel tugged on the back of Tifa's shirt. Tifa turned back to look at the boy, "Yes, Denzel?"

"Um, Marlene wants to know if we'll be able to feel the baby yet."

An irritated reply came from the kitchen, "Liar! You've been wondering all week!"

Denzel glared through the open doorway. Tifa laughed, "Yeah. You should be able to feel the baby now." At 23 weeks along, Tifa definitely had a baby bump, even if she was a bit behind average in size, "Do you want to try?"

Denzel smiled and nodded, "Yeah. Can Marlene try, too?"

Tifa laughed, "Of course. Marlene! Do you want to come feel the baby?"

Marlene cheered, "Yes, please!"

At that moment, the door burst open, "What's this about touching the baby?" Reno asked, sauntering in lazily, "Don't you need to wait till it's born to do that?" he smirked. "Or do you need a probe?"

Tifa glared at the redhead, "No."

Mrs. Strife made a face, "Young man, if you wouldn't mind watching your tongue."

Reno smirked again and shrugged, "What? Just a question."

Rude sighed and adjusted his sunglasses. He gave Tifa a small nod.

"Hi, Rude, help yourself to a drink if you'd like," Tifa replied, "And the baby's big enough to be felt through my skin now for your information, Reno," Tifa walked over to her old beat up sofa and sat down.

Reno made a face, "Creepy."

Tifa rolled her eyes, "Come here, Denzel. Marlene."

The two children hopped onto the sofa next to Tifa as she sat down. Tifa felt around on her belly, then took Marlene's hand and pressed it into the spot where she felt a bump.

Marlene cocked her head to the side, "…I don't feel anything, Tifa. Is the baby okay?"

"The baby's fine, Marlene. He's just sleeping right now. Here," Tifa rubbed Marlene's fingers over the spot. The girl gasped.

"I feel a bump!"

"That's his butt."

Marlene laughed, "Ewww! Baby butt!"

"You know it's a boy?" Denzel asked.

Reno scoffed, "Ha! Id'a thought Cloud would have daughters."

"Oh, hush, Reno. I don't know if the baby's a boy or a girl, Denzel, but I don't like calling him or her 'it'. It feels rude."

Denzel nodded, "Oh. Okay. Can I try feeling the baby?"

"Of course. Marlene, scoot over so Denzel can feel," Tifa instructed. She pressed the boy's fingers into the side of her belly, then gasped and released the pressure. She drew her knees close to her and Barret and Reno jumped to their feet while Rude took a step forward.

"Oh, Tifa…" Mrs. Strife started, "I'll go get you a hot water bottle." She stood and hustled into the kitchen.

"Sorry! Sorry, Tifa!" Denzel yelped.

"No, you're fine, Denzel. Sometimes I just hurt," Tifa murmured.

Reno and Rude looked at each other and Barret tromped over to Tifa, "You alright, Teef? You want me to call Spike?"

Tifa shook her head, "No. It's fine. The pain goes away pretty quickly."

Reno scratched the back of his head, "That's not normal for pregnancy, is it?"

Tifa shook her head, "No, but I know the cause and there's nothing I can do about it, so I'll manage."

Rude cleared his throat, "If you need help…"

Reno nodded, "Yeah, we can get you help if you need it."

The microwave beeped and Mrs. Strife emerged a moment later with a hot water bottle wrapped in a towel. She handed it to Tifa, who placed the bottle over her stomach and nodded, "Thanks, but I'm fine now."

"Alright…" Reno shifted on his feet.

Tifa answered her phone before the ringtone had been playing for three seconds. "Hey, Cloud, how have you been?"

Reno grabbed the cell, "Dude, get your ass back here before someone steals your pregnant wife."

Barret burst into laughter, "True dat! You hear, Spikey?!"

"You guys!" Tifa exclaimed, "Give me back my phone!"

Reno pressed a button and Cloud's voice rang out on speaker phone, "-efore I kick your ass, Reno."

"Ooooohhh, Cloud said a bad word," Marlene sang, accompanied by Denzel's snickers.

"Reno!" Cloud snarled, "You…jerk. Take me off speaker and give the phone to Tifa. And Marlene, Reno and Barret say bad words all the time, why call me out?"

Marlene giggled, "Because it's fun."

"Hey, anything you can say to Tifa, you can say to the rest of us, riiight Cloudy-boo-boo?" Reno teased, donning a baby voice.

Cloud groaned, then continued his conversation with Tifa, "I've been fine. How have you been, Tifa? Are you still getting those cramps?"

"Yeah, but that's only to be expected. Do you need me to send you some elixirs with Goldie?"

"No, this W-item materia is weird. Anytime I'm indecisive about using a second item, more of the first item show up."

"Really? Then come home and we can just open a shop."

"That won't work, unfortunately. I tried using it out of battle and nothing happened, or else I would have been back ages ago."

Reno noted, balancing a pen on his fingertip, "Dude, you've already sent enough money. And even if you haven't, you two have got friends in high places that'll help you out if you need it. Reeve's the freakin' President ShinRa."

There was a pause from Cloud's end. "You think? To be honest, I'm not even sure how much I've sent," he admitted.

"You've sent plenty, Cloud, I promise," Tifa replied, nodding a thank you at Reno, "Can you come home?"

"God, yes. I've been wanting to come home basically since I left, but you know all about that, Tifa. I should be ready to come back in a day or two. I just need time to gather up my things and call Cid."

"Great! I'll see you then!"

"Cloud's coming back!" Denzel cheered. Marlene jumped up and down excitedly.

Tifa smiled and looked at Barret, "You should have seen her when we told her you were coming by when you were still travelling."

Barret beamed at his daughter and scooped her into a hug, "Daaw, baby girl!"

"Tifaaa! I told you not to tell him thaaaat!" Marlene whined, but "grudgingly" hugged her dad back.

Tifa yawned, "I'm going to bed. Goodnight everyone. Don't you dare drink all my merchandise without paying, Reno. Rude, Barret, keep an eye on him?"

"Aw, Tifa, even I know better than to steal from you," Reno laughed.

"Only because you tried to get away with it before," Tifa reminded.

Reno shrugged, "Good night, snookums," he said with a wink.

Tifa raised an unimpressed eyebrow at the redhead and went upstairs to bathe.

Downstairs, Tifa heard Barret smack Reno, "Would you quit hittin' on Tifa? She's married and pregnant, for god's sake!"

"Calm down, Barret. I was only teasing," Reno replied cooly.

Tifa laughed silently. Barret was a good friend to Cloud, no matter what the two had to say about it.

* * *

The next night, Tifa woke to another intense pain in her abdomen. She whimpered and curled inward on Cloud's empty half of the bed, gasping. She waited for the pain to go away, but it only intensified. She bit her lip to keep from crying out. When the pain still hadn't subsided in a half-minute, Tifa had no choice but to call Barret. He slept in the room next to Tifa's so he could help her if she needed it.

"B-Barret!" Tifa started crawling out of bed and fell to the floor, "Barret!"

The hulking man ran into the room a moment later and helped Tifa to her feet. Tifa felt something drip down her leg and looked to see blood on the floor. She let out a sob, "Call Cloud!"

Barret saw the blood on the bed and floor and picked Tifa up. He held her in one arm and ran out the door, calling Cid with his other hand.

Cloud's phone rang. He paused in what he was doing, wondering what had happened. This was way later than he usually got calls, and Tifa had already talked with him a few hours earlier. He yawned, remembering how late it was, and answered.

* * *

"Hel-"

"Be ready to leave the damn instant Cid gets there, Spike! I'm on my way to the hospital with Tifa!" Barret yelled into the phone.

Cloud was wide awake in an instant, "Hospital?! What's wrong? What happened? Let me talk to Tifa," he replied, shocked.

"I don't know, but she's bleedin' a lot. Gotta go. You'd better be ready!" Barret repeated before hanging up.

"Wait! Let me talk to her!" Cloud growled at the buzzing phone in his hand before calling Barret back twice and receiving no answer.

He was stricken. Bleeding? Cloud threw everything else he had hap-hazardly into his bags and stuffed them as well as his shaking hands could manage. He called Cid.

"Cid, please tell me you're on your way."

"Yeah, I'll be up there in about an hour if I go at top speed. I heard Barret yell the info to Shera. Gotta go," Cid hung up.

An hour! That'll be too late! Cloud had to be there _NOW_! He searched his materia for something, _anything_, that might get him home faster, but his best bet was to use his mastered Time materia to cast Haste on the Highwind when Cid got here. That would cut travel time in about a half if the magic even worked on inanimate objects. Cloud sat and buried his head in his hands. This couldn't be happening. He couldn't shake the feeling that this was his fault. He was basically a big bubble of mako energy. That couldn't be good. And Tifa herself had fallen into the lifestream, first in Mideel (along with Cloud) and again when they defeated Sephiroth the first time. Add to that that they both lived next to a mako reactor as kids…there was so much room for damage.

"Rg," Cloud stood and started organizing the junk in his bags for something to do. He willed Cid to fly faster.

* * *

"Forget it, just hover over the hospital, Cid. I'll jump."

"Shit, chu're crazy."

"Do it!"

"Alright, alright," Cid flew forward and lowered the airship over the hospital and Cloud jumped onto the roof. He ran inside and searched out a worker.

"Which floor is Tifa Strife on?"

"I'm not sure, sir. Why is she in the hospital?" the attendant replied calmly.

"She had a problem with her pregnancy and came here. I was told that she was bleeding a lot."

"Oh, dear. That would be on the third floor. Why are you up here?"

"Got lost," Cloud ran past the attendant and went to the third floor.

When Cloud finally found Tifa's room, she was sitting on the bed with her arms wrapped around her knees and her head down. She was in a hospital gown, her hair was frazzled, and she was very pale.

"Took you long enough, Spike," Barret murmured from a nearby chair. He rubbed his stubble and yawned, still in his pyjamas. Cloud caught his breath, nodded at Barret in acknowledgment, then walked over to his wife.

"Tifa?" Cloud huffed, placing his hand on her shoulder.

"We lost him."

"…What?" she couldn't mean…

"We lost the baby," Tifa's voice was hoarse. She'd been crying. They had a son?

Cloud's face fell. He sat on the bed next to Tifa and put his arm around her shoulders. She leaned into him and cried.

"Shh, shh. It's alright, Tifa," Cloud rocked her gently. He had a son. He couldn't fully understand that the baby was…was gone? Or had doctors misplaced his crib-thing? Lost?

She shook her head and buried herself into her husband, "He-" she choked on her words, "He-" she tried again, but whatever she was going to say was cut off by a sob.

"He what?" Cloud asked. He was a father. Cloud was a father.

"He only had one leg. And no arms," Barret clarified. He rubbed his own prosthetic arm absently.

The blood drained from Cloud's face. This was all his fault. He rested his head against Tifa's and sat silently for a moment, "…Have they taken him away? I want to see him. My son." Cloud's voice cracked and he cleared his throat, "I want to see my son."

Barret sighed deeply. He sounded tired. "They haven't taken him yet. I'll call a nurse and explain why you're not signed in while they get him," he stood and left the room.

Cloud leaned against Tifa, "This is all my fault…"

Tifa shook her head and looked up at Cloud with red eyes, "It's no more your fault than it is mine. You may have been exposed to more mako than I have, but my body might not even be able to sustain a full pregnancy…"

Barret came back into the room with a nurse, the nurse wheeling a small cart with a tiny red baby in it. Cloud's eyes widened when he saw his son. He put his hand over his mouth. The one leg he had was missing a toe. Where his other leg should have been was a lump in his hip. One arm extended about a centimeter, but ended in a rounded stump, and the other arm was only a shoulder. His face was totally normal. His skin looked thin and papery, as if it would tear if Cloud wasn't careful with his rough hands. All of the cold veins were easily visible in the baby's smooth skin. Thin ribbons of blue in a red background. Cloud walked over and worked the tiny stillborn into the palm of his hand. How could a human being be so small? Cloud's throat tightened and he swallowed a sob. His son…

Cloud took his boy's foot in his fingers and moved it. All of the bones were there, ignoring the baby's missing toe. Behind him, Tifa sobbed. Cloud started, would he be able to sit next to Tifa right now? He wanted his family to all be together, but not if it made Tifa unhappy.

"Bring him here, Cloud," Tifa asked, "I want us all to be together."

And this was why Cloud married Tifa. He walked over with his tiny son and sat next to his wife. This was his family. Death was his brother.

"Should we-" Cloud voice came out hoarse and he cleared his throat again, "Should we name him?"

Tifa nodded, "Yes."

"What should we name him, then?"

"I don't know. How about…Eiden?" Tifa suggested sadly.

Cloud nodded, "Sounds good."

"Should I put that on the birth certificate?" the nurse asked gently.

Tifa started. She had totally forgotten Barret and the nurse were still there, "Yes," she nodded. And of course, the Death Certificate, too. Why does death deserve a certificate? Like it was some sort of accomplishment. "Would you mind leaving? I want some time to be alone with Cloud and Eiden."

"Of course, Mrs. Strife. E-i-d-e-n?"

"Yes."

The nurse left, and Barret thumped Cloud on the back before leaving. Cloud cleared his throat. He put his arm around Tifa. Tifa rubbed Eiden's head softly with the tip of her finger.

Cloud came out of the room a while after the nurse and leaned against the wall. Barret stood and patted him on the shoulder.

"I'm sorry, man. I did everything I could."

"I know. Thank you, Barret. You…you're a good friend."

Barret knocked Cloud in the head, "Knock that off. Anyone with half a heart would have helped Tifa last night."

"Yeah, but not anyone would take time off from their own life to keep an eye on her while I was gone," Cloud cleared his throat again and said in almost a whisper, as if he were telling a deep dark secret, "You're one of my best friends."

"…Well, shit," Barret scratched his head, "Thanks, Spike."

Cloud shrugged.

"So why aren't you in there with her?"

"Tifa said she wanted a bit of time to herself. She's probably reasoning through losing Eiden. I'm having trouble believing it myself."

A man approached Cloud and Barret, "Excuse me, sir. Are you this woman's husband?" the doctor asked Cloud, gesturing to Tifa's room.

"Yes. Why?"

"I just wanted to know how much mako energy you've been exposed to. Had you always lived in Midgar? Or near a reactor? Or did you ever make contact with a particularly potent stream of mako?"

"Both me and my wife lived in a town with a reactor growing up, and we moved to Midgar after the reactor malfunctioned and burned our town to the ground. I also used to be SOLDIER, 2nd class," Barret rose an eyebrow, but said nothing. Cloud decided full details of his experience with mako were unnecessary, and he decided his usual "SOLDIER 1st class" claim would be pretty easy to call false. All of ShinRa's firsts could be counted on one hand. And besides, Cloud already knew what had caused Eiden came out the way he did.

The doctor nodded, "That may have been a factor in why this happened. I would recommend, if you still plan on having children, to wait at least three months until Mrs. Strife recovers from the miscarriage. We're worried that some additional damage may have been done to her uterus. You were aware of her previous scarring?"

Cloud nodded.

"Her uterus was stretched very thin in the areas surrounding the scars, and if she gets pregnant again too soon, it may tear. This would be potentially life-threatening for Mrs. Strife and the child would surely die."

Cloud's brow furrowed, "But she'll recover eventually, right? Tifa's wanted to be a mother for…almost as long as I've known her. It would…if she couldn't ever have children…she…and I…" Cloud struggled for words. It wouldn't kill Tifa. At least Cloud hoped it wouldn't. But it would break her spirit for a long time.

"Yes, she should be able to, but it would be high-risk. If she becomes pregnant again, you would need to have more detailed check-ups more often than usual."

"But it would be possible?"

"Yes."

Cloud sighed, "Good. Is there anything else I should know?"

"She'll continue having pains for a while as her body adjusts to losing the child, but she'll be back to usual in a couple weeks at most. I'll send some medication home with you in case the pain becomes too intense, but it shouldn't be necessary."

"Thank you."

The doctor nodded, "Good luck, Mr. Strife," and walked away after handing Cloud a prescription for pain medication.

Barret whistled, "Good luck, Spike. You and Teef are gonna need it."

"Thanks," Cloud sighed.

* * *

Tifa was able to come home later that day, although she walked very stiffly. Cloud walked next to her and held her hand most of the time. When Cloud, Tifa, and Barret walked into the Seventh Heaven, Marlene and Denzel jumped up from the game of chess they had been playing with Rude and ran over. Reno sighed from the couch, "You alright?"

Tifa lowered her head and said nothing.

"I'll tell you about it later," Cloud explained.

"Right," Reno glanced at Tifa's small belly, but didn't say anything.

Mrs. Strife stood and walked over to Tifa, "Would you like to talk upstairs?"

Tifa shrugged.

Marlene looked at Tifa's belly, then looked at Denzel worriedly as Cloud led his wife quietly up the stairs.

Reno looked at Barret, "What happened?"

"Ts'not my place to say," Barret replied, "Marlene, do you and Denzel wanna go out somewhere?"

"No. I want to know what happened to Tifa's baby," Marlene said, crossing her arms. Denzel nodded. The nine and thirteen-year-olds had always been more mature than Barret gave them credit for.

* * *

Cloud sat Tifa down on the bed and plopped himself down next to her, "…Do you want me to get you anything?" he asked.

Tifa shook her head, "I just want to forget this happened for the time being," she looked over at her husband, "Eiden lived for a few minutes."

"He was born alive?" Cloud couldn't really believe that. Why would Tifa's body get rid of a live baby, limbs or not?

"Yes. I thought you would want to know."

Cloud paused. He nodded, "Yeah. Thank you."

* * *

I'm sorry that this chapter was so sad, but Cloud and Tifa having trouble having kids is a very real possibility that no one has seemed to think of and want to write about. But things look up, I promise! I'm not about to end a story on a note like this :)

Thank you for liking and commenting for those of you who feel so inclined and have done so in the past! In the words of an author who is quoting another author: Getting reviews makes me feel all gooey and squishy inside :)


	2. Lady Luck

Tadaaa! I told you I just needed to edit! :D

* * *

Lady Luck

* * *

Cloud and Tifa had been nervous about their fifth attempt at a child, but after hearing that Tifa was pregnant with twins, the pair assumed they would be having two more dead children. Tifa had had two early miscarriages after Eiden, although the baby girl resulting from Tifa's fourth pregnancy, who they named Katrina, had developed much further than Eiden and had survived a day to her brother's few minutes. Cloud had been convinced that the second too-small child was going to make it, even with a severe brain deficiency and distorted body. Doctors offered to abort one of the current children to increase the second child's chances of survival, but Tifa refused. During one of Tifa's ultrasounds about four months into the pregnancy, it was discovered that the twin boys were conjoined at the stomach and that one of the twins' legs wasn't forming correctly. Tifa cried that night and tried to ignore her growing pains.

As the pregnancy continued for another month, problems continued to arise and Tifa had to be put on bedrest at the hospital. Keeping the Seventh Heaven in shape fell to Cloud afterwards, which kept him from visiting his wife during the day. Barret would visit and keep Cloud updated on how Tifa was doing or he would look after the restaurant if something serious came up with the pregnancy. Cloud and Tifa talked a lot over the phone. In this fashion, Tifa miraculously got to the third trimester. Everyone knew that this was a blessing. Even if the twins were born now, they had a fairly decent chance of survival if kept in the ICU. Cloud's magic pot hunting a couple years ago proved itself to be unimaginably useful.

A couple of weeks later, Cloud got his usual call from Tifa, but when he answered, she was struggling to keep herself calm.

"Cloud, you need to come now. The babies are in trouble a-and I'm on my way to the delivery room," she stuttered.

"I'm on my way. You'll be fine, Tifa. I'll call Barret."

"Okay…"

Cloud hung up and called Barret while he finished cleaning up a couple dishes.

"What's up, Spike?" the large man hollered over the noise of his new metal-working shop.

"Tifa's having the kids. Just…y'know."

"On my way. Send me some pics! They'll be adorable!" Barret called.

* * *

Cloud ran into Tifa's room after going through all of the maddening hospital protocol. She was lying on a surgery table and there was a sheet keeping her from seeing the doctors beginning to cut through her abdomen to get to the twins. Some of the tension lifted from Tifa's eyes as soon as she saw Cloud. She reached a shaking hand out to him and he took it immediately. He started rubbing her scarred knuckles.

"I'm sorry I couldn't get here faster," Cloud said. His voice was slightly muffled by the face mask he wore.

"It's okay," Tifa said quietly, "What's Dr. Grainer doing now?"

"Uh…" Cloud glanced uneasily across the sheet, then looked back at Tifa's face quickly, his face pale, "He's cutting through tissue…and stuff…"

Tifa looked at Cloud, "I didn't know you were squeamish."

Cloud shook his head, "Usually I'm not. But it makes me uncomfortable seeing your insides."

Tifa nodded understandingly. The pair made small talk to block out the noises of surgery until a tiny, pitiful squeak, followed by a second squeak, floated over to them. Cloud stopped mid-sentence and looked over at his sons, carefully avoiding looking at the gaping hole in Tifa's belly. The two boys fit in Dr. Grainer's hands easily. The doctor walked over and showed Tifa the children.

"Here are your boys, Mrs. Strife."

Tifa brought her hands to her mouth. She reached out and Dr. Grainer placed the boys in her hands. She wiped each of their foreheads and kissed them before handing them back to the doctor.

Cloud rubbed his sons' heads, "Make sure they stay alive."

"I always do my best to keep children alive," Dr. Grainer replied before placing the children in the ready incubator and rushing them to ICU.

* * *

For the next few weeks, the boys stayed in an incubator. It was impossible for the time being to separate them and keep them alive. The boys were almost always with their mother or father, the only exception being when Tifa was asleep and Cloud had to go home after visiting hours had ended. Cloud and Tifa had decided to name the boys after Cloud's friend Zack, and the man Zack had talked about often, Angeal. Maybe their spirits would help keep the boys alive. Cloud knew how happy Zack would be if he knew. Despite the twins' faces being identical, it was easy to tell them apart. Angeal's leg hadn't developed past his knee and his right hand had only three fingers, and the pad of that hand had grown very little beyond his wrist. The effect made it look like he had two very long fingers and a thumb. The muscle in Zack's skinny left arm was developing slowly and he had trouble opening his eyes. But they were surviving. Other than a couple of scares when Zack stopped breathing, the boys had few health issues.

Tifa was released from the hospital a week after Zack and Angeal had been born, but the boys had to stay until they were about two months old.

The week before the boys were scheduled to come home, Cloud and Tifa called all of their friends and invited them to welcome the babies. Not all of them could make it (Cid and Shera for example. Shera was far too pregnant to be flying anywhere and Cid didn't want to leave her). Vincent couldn't be reached, but Mrs. Strife, Barret, Nanaki, Yuffie, and Reeve were able to be there. When Cloud walked in holding the children's car seat Yuffie ran forward, "Aww! You guys! They're so cu-" she blinked, "Isn't it supposed to be only one baby per seat? I mean, do what you want, they're your kids, but…"

Tifa shook her head and hefted Zell's old baby bag on her shoulder, glad to finally be able to use it again, "They're conjoined, Yuffie. They share a body."

Yuffie's jaw dropped, "What? That's a thing? I thought that only happened in movies!"

Cloud scowled as Mrs. Strife pinched Yuffie's arm in a silent word of caution, "Is there a problem?" he asked.

The ninja waved her hands, "No, no! I was just surprised! Don't get so over protective, Cloud!"

"Sorry. But they're my and Tifa's first kids to live long enough to come home."

Yuffie nodded, "Yeah, I get it. Can I hold them? I promise to be real careful!"

Cloud looked at his wife. Tifa nodded at Yuffie, "Sure you can hold them, Yuffie. Let me show you how," Tifa traded the baby bag for the car seat and walked a bouncing Yuffie over to the sofa. At 21 years old, you'd think that Yuffie would be a bit more mature…

Barret elbowed Cloud in the ribs, "Looks like my 'good luck' worked wonders eh, Spike?" he said proudly.

"Tch, sure Barret. Nevermind the fact that they've been fully dependent on modern technology to survive for their whole existence."

Barret crossed his arms, "Hmph. I was just sayin' congratulations, you bastard," he grabbed Cloud's head and gave a violent noogie. Cloud punched Barret in the gut several times before the larger man let him go.

"Jeezus Christ, Cloud! I thoughtchew'd punch easier after all this time without a threat to the world!" Barret cried, holding his abdomen.

Cloud smirked and shrugged, "Just 'cause you've let yourself go doesn't mean I have to. And besides, I'm 14 years younger than you. I'm supposed to be in better shape."

"Little punk. Why I oughta-" Barret drew back his metal hand.

"Cloud. Barret. Knock that off right now." Tifa scolded, "And Cloud. If age is the only factor in strength, then I can beat you in a fight."

"You probably could," Reeve laughed, "All you'd have to do is get rid of Cloud's sword and you have a massive upper hand. Er. Fist."

The room burst into laughter. Even Cloud smirked. A very good point from Reeve.

Zack started crying when the sudden burst of noise woke him and his brother. Angeal hiccupped into tears shortly after. Yuffie hurriedly gave the children back to their mother, "Your turn, Mom!"

Tifa happily accepted her crying sons.

* * *

When Zack and Angeal were three years old, they had the surgery done to separate them from one another. They remained in the hospital for two weeks afterward, and cried anytime they didn't share the same bed to sleep in, but otherwise, the two loved their newfound freedom. Angeal had trouble learning how to use the prosthetic leg Cid had made for him without Zack to lean on, but was catching on quickly. The bigger problem was Zack himself. The child had been born almost entirely blind and had relied heavily on Angeal to know where he was going. Now without the help of his brother's eyes, Zack was lost. He often gave up after running into something and sat down and cried until someone picked him up.

When the boys got back to their house after recovery, they were immediately more comfortable. Angeal tottered all over and worked at not walking sideways. Zack dropped to his hands and knees and started feeling his way to Marlene and Denzel's old room and the toys that lay within. The two teenagers enjoyed living with Barret in the gun shop he opened about half a year ago. Barret, knowing he wasn't exactly the "managing" type, left money and shop maintenance to the people Tifa and Reeve had found, but had a large array of services he could provide as one of the best metalworkers in the city.

Tifa picked Zack up carefully, cautious of the stitches in his torso. She gave him a kiss and cuddled her baby close. Zack burrowed into his mother, eyes closed and totally content and happy. He sat up, his blind eyes struggling to find Tifa's face, "Mama?"

"Yeah, honey?" Tifa shifted Zack so he could look her in the face more easily.

"I feel funny. I want Angeal."

"Alright," Tifa walked over to where Cloud was playing with Angeal and set Zack down. Zack closed the space between himself and his brother and sat with his foot touching Angeal's. Angeal plopped down next to his brother and threw a block in Zack's lap. Zack giggled and picked up the block, circling it in his hands. Cloud and Tifa smiled at each other. They were really starting to look like a normal family now.

Angeal grabbed some more blocks and threw them at his brother's head, making Zack shriek and hit Angeal back. Angeal smacked his brother once before their parents pulled the boys apart, Angeal laughing and Zack crying. Yup, exactly like a normal family.

* * *

Thank you for reading and hopefully enjoying!


	3. Curiosity

Seeing that the previous chapter was short, and that I had this one done already, I decided to add it as well. Enjoy the cuteness!

* * *

Curiosity

* * *

Two months after they came home, Cloud woke to the twins crying. Again. He groaned and put the pillow over his head for a few seconds before crawling out of bed and going to see what his sons wanted before Tifa woke up. He felt that since she took more care of the bar, he would take more night shifts with the kids. Sometimes Cloud wondered if this is what Zack had to go through while Cloud had been comatose. Hopefully without the crying. He sent a silent 'Thank you for taking care of me' to Zack as he walked into the bedroom adjacent to his and Tifa's and stared down at his 4 month old sons. They were screaming into each other's faces. Cloud carefully picked them up and laid them against his chest, used to holding the conjoined babies now. He changed their diapers and went downstairs to see if they wanted food. He sighed. Who was he trying to fool? Yes they wanted food. He filled a pot with water and set it on the stove to warm before going to the fridge. He had been extremely uncomfortable handing Tifa's breast milk when it first came on him to heat some up. It just felt…odd. Cloud still often thought about the strangeness of the stuff when he heated it, but it didn't bother him like it did a couple months ago. He put the two bottles in the pot and bounced, trying to get his sons to shut up. He yawned and waited. The two boys squirmed and quieted after a bit. They looked around at the dark kitchen and at their father, bright green eyes easy to pick out.

A few minutes later, Cloud removed the bottles and checked one on his wrist. He turned off the stove and took the other bottle. He shook both in his hand while he walked to the sofa on the other side of the room and sat down with a huff. Both boys were searching for the bottles, eyes glowing slightly. Cloud smiled at them, his own eyes reflecting back at his sons. As annoying as they could get, Cloud had to admit that he and Tifa made cute babies. The only thing that unnerved Cloud was the luminescence of his sons' eyes. They lacked the slit of a pupil, but they were the same mako green as… As Aerith, he reminded. Cloud and Tifa had decided to see the mako in their children's eyes as a good luck charm from the flower girl. He popped the first bottle in Angeal's mouth without a thought and was about to give the second to Zack when he wondered: What did the milk taste like? He stared at the bottle in his palm for a moment, dabbed some on the back of his free hand, and gave the bottle to Zack, who started drinking happily.

Cloud stared at the milk sitting innocently on his hand. Did he really want to try this?

…Aw, hell, his sons won't tell. Cloud licked the stuff off and pondered the taste. It was kinda sweet. Very milky. Kinda fatty. Kinda tasted like what he and Tifa had for dinner. He smirked. That was weird, but not bad, actually, although Cloud wasn't about to make a habit of drinking Tifa's breast milk.

"Did you just drink my breast milk?"

Shit. "Uh…what?" Cloud asked innocently.

_I don't know what you're talking about._

Tifa leaned in the doorway leading to the stairs. She laughed groggily and walked over to her 3 boys. "Cloud Herbert Strife…you…little…weirdo." She sat next to her husband and messed with the blond fuzz on Angeal's head. She kissed the top of his head while he ate. "Hey, baby." Even at 2:30 in the morning, her eyes filled with love for the tiny boy.

Cloud blushed, "I-I…"

Tifa smiled sleepily over at him and laughed quietly again.

"I was just curious…" Cloud mumbled.

She gave Cloud a kiss on the cheek, "You're fine. How are they?"

"Good. I'm hoping they'll go back to sleep after they eat."

Tifa nodded understandingly. She sighed and leaned against Cloud's shoulder. "I'm so glad that they're healthy."

Cloud rubbed the side of Zack's head as the boy ate, "Yeah."

Tifa didn't say anything for a while. Cloud figured she had fallen back asleep. He listened to the little grunts and squeaks his kids made while they were drinking. He heaved a massive yawn and laid his head back on the couch. He kept his eyes open, though. Cloud didn't want to fall asleep and end up dropping Zack and Angeal. Along with the intense guilt he would feel, Tifa would murder him.

"…So what does my milk taste like?"

Cloud jumped. He gave Tifa a stern look.

She shrugged lightly. "I'm curious."

Cloud shifted and sighed. A gleam came to his eye and he looked over at Tifa. "Why ask me? You've got the source attached to you."

Tifa laughed, "I'm not going to suck on my own boob."

Cloud laughed at the thought and raised an eyebrow at Tifa.

"No matter how much you want me to."

Cloud snorted, "But why?"

"First of all, I don't think my neck can bend that way. Secondly: ow. Now answer my question, Mr. Changing-the-Subject."

Dang. He sighed, "Well…it's kinda sweet and milky and a little fatty. And it sorta tasted like what we had for dinner."

"Spaghetti?"

"Yeah. But just a little."

"Huh."

Zack spat his bottle out and Cloud couldn't catch it before the empty container clattered to the floor. Angeal still had a little milk left, but that too was soon gone. Tifa held her arms out for the boys and Cloud passed them. Tifa grabbed a burp rag and balled it up between Zack and Angeal's mouths before she started patting Zack's back. She leaned back on the sofa and laid her babies on her milk-swollen chest and patted Zack until he burped. Nothing came up and Tifa started patting Angeal's back until he burped. She wiped his mouth free of spit-up and stood. She looked at Cloud, "Do you want to put them to sleep or should I?"

Cloud reached his hands out and stood up, "I'll do it. You go get some sleep, just let me sleep in a little in the morning. Children permitting, that is."

Tifa nodded and handed the conjoined twins to Cloud before stretching, yawning, and walking back upstairs with him. She gave him a kiss before retreating back into the bedroom.

Cloud went into the next bedroom and laid the twins down in their crib. Angeal yawned and grunted. Zack, who had been wide awake before that point, fell asleep. Cloud did a double fist and mouthed 'Thank you!' before making a hasty retreat and crawling back into the beckoning sheets and immediately falling asleep.

* * *

Bam, bam, bam! 3 chapters in 2 days! :D


	4. Aeris

Aeris

* * *

As soon as Tifa heard the baby squeak she looked up at Cloud, "What does she look like?"

Cloud scoffed, "Bald and red."

The doctors wrapped the tiny baby girl in a blanket and showed her to Tifa. Their little Aeris was indeed bald and red. The infant squeaked and wiggled and stared at her mother. One of the first things Tifa noticed about her baby girl was her cleft palate, but Tifa wasn't severely upset. A cleft palate was easily fixed nowadays, and Aeris looked totally normal otherwise. A blessing.

Tifa smiled, "Hey, honey."

The obstetrician took tiny Aeris away to be cleaned and checked while Tifa's abdomen was sewn shut.

Mrs. Gainsborough watched the doctors take the mewling infant away and waited to see Tifa and Cloud. The latter came outside a moment after the doctors left and sat next to the older woman.

"Was the baby a boy or a girl?" Elmrya asked.

"A girl. You're sure you don't mind if we call her Aeris?"

Mrs. Gainsborough smiled, "Of course not. She wasn't just mine, you know. And I bet that Aeris would be squealing with joy if she was here right now."

Cloud nodded, "Probably."

"Was anything, um…wrong with little Aeris?"

"Not really. A cleft palate, but that's going to be easy to fix."

"Oh, thank heavens. I didn't want another scare like you had with the boys."

Cloud sighed and shook his head, remembering all too clearly.

They sat in comfortable silence until Tifa was brought out, then walked with her gurney back to her room to wait on Aeris.

* * *

"Moooom!" Zack cried as he ran into the room, sweeping his walking stick skillfully in front of him, "You said you would wait until we got home from school!"

Angeal trotted into the room behind his twin and knocked Zack in the back of the head, knocking his glasses loose, "Mom can't control when she has Aeris, stupid. He was crying like a baby when he found out that you were having her," the six-year-old said with a snicker.

"I was worried!" Zack defended. He pushed his thick, green-tinted glasses far up his nose.

Cloud held a finger to his mouth, "You'll be in so much trouble if you wake your mother."

Mrs. Strife chuckled and shook her head, thinking it funny that Cloud scolded his sons for acting the same way he used to. She turned back to Elmrya and they continued talking quietly.

Zack clapped his hands over his mouth, "Sorry, Dad," he said through his self-made muzzle. "Hi, Oma! Hi, Aunt Elmyra!" he added.

Angeal snorted and shoved his twin playfully before greeting his grandmother and aunt as well.

The amber-haired boys walked over to their dad. Zack looked up at him with big green eyes, "Can I see Aeris?"

Cloud shook his head, "Not right now. Aeris had something wrong with her lip and she's getting it fixed."

Angeal cocked his head to the side, luminescent green eyes looking at Cloud curiously, "How can you have something wrong with your lip?"

"She had a hole in her top lip, so they're sewing it closed," Cloud explained.

Zack's jaw dropped, "Why?! That's so cool! You wouldn't have to open your mouth to use a straw and you could-"

Cloud flicked his son in the head, "A cleft palate is very bad, Zack. And you need to be quieter."

Zack rubbed his temple and pouted.

Within the next half hour, Tifa woke up, several guests arrived, and Aeris was brought to meet everyone. Reno and Rude glanced at each other when they saw the stiches in Aeris' lip, but said nothing.

Barret laughed, "You finally got your girl, Spike!"

Marlene smiled, "She's so cuuute!"

Cloud smirked, "Thanks. Now maybe she can teach her brothers to play nicer."

Zack and Angeal laughed unabashedly before starting a mock sparring session. Tifa shot the boys a "Don't you dare" look and the roughhousing stopped immediately.

"So, her name's Aerith?" Yuffie asked, sitting down on the bed. "Figures."

"AeriS," Tifa clarified.

Yuffie raised an eyebrow, "Why Aeris? If you're going to name her after Aerith, than name her after Aerith," the ninja snorted.

Cid raised an eyebrow at Yuffie, "Didn't you notith that Aerith had a listhp?"

Mary Highwind giggled from her father's side.

Shera looked at her husband, "Cid, really?"

"Whaat? Mare thought it was funny, ya old prick. Didn'tcha, Mare?"

Mary giggled again.

Cloud dismissed the three Highwinds and nudged Tifa's shoulder, "Can I hold her?"

"Hmmmm…I dunno…" Tifa rolled her head around.

"Please?" Cloud said with a laugh.

"Okay," Tifa passed the blanket to Cloud, "You remember how to hold a baby, right?"

"Make sure to support the feet?"

"Other end."

"Oh, yeah."

As is usual for babies, Aeris got passed around so everyone could have a chance to hold her. She had almost made a full rotation before she started whimpering. Everyone started leaving then so Aeris could eat. On their ways out, everyone gave their final congratulations and compliments.

* * *

When it came time to pick Aeris' godparents, Cloud and Tifa asked Elmrya to be the godmother.

* * *

I've had the past few chapters ready for so long, it feels so good to finally get them out!


	5. Christmas!

Hello again! Just another fun little chapter with the Strife family and some Christmas spirit because all the winter ads have put christmas on my brain :)

* * *

Christmas

* * *

"DADDYYYY!" Aeris yelled, "Zack'sh holding my schair again!"

Cloud shouted down the stairs to his kids, "Zack, let your sister go!" Cloud swore, ever since school let out for winter break, the children had been testing how far they could go before Santa left coal in their stockings.

Zack pouted, "Hmph. Tattle tale," he shoved his sister's wheelchair away from him.

"Four-eyesch," Aeris shot back.

Zack scowled and adjusted his glasses, "Would you prefer I rubbed my _dirty_ hands all over your face to see what you looked like?" he reached a hand out threateningly.

"Eek!" Aeris wheeled out of Zack's reach in a hurry, "No! You already know what I look like, grodie!"

Angeal tore from around a corner and scooped Aeris out of her seat, "Gotcha!"

Aeris whined,"An-ge-yaaal…"

Zack held out his arms, "Toss her to me!" the 13 year old called.

Angeal swung Aeris, getting ready to toss the small 6 (and 3 quarters!) year old.

"MOMMY!"

"You will do no such thing," Tifa walked into the room and pointed at Aeris' empty chair, "Put her down, Angeal. And Aeris, stop yelling in the house. If you three don't start behaving, then Santa won't leave you anything."

Angeal rose an eyebrow. Surely Mom didn't think he still believed in Santa Claus?

However, he played along for his sister's sake and drooped along with Aeris' pout. He then passed his sister onto an unsuspecting Zack, who dropped her.

"Hey!" Aeris squealed.

"Sorry!" Zack helped Aeris into her chair. Once in her seat, Aeris snatched Zack's glasses and put them on her head. She'd made the mistake of putting the green spectacles over her eyes only once.

"Heey! I need those!" Zack felt the air near Aeris' head and knocked her on the ear. Aeris giggled and returned her brother's glasses. Zack hated it when people could see his eyes. He could never make them go where he wanted them to.

Tifa rolled her eyes and went upstairs to answer the ringing phone, although Cloud got to it before she did.

"Uh huh," Cloud was saying when Tifa walked in, "You're almost done? ...By her birthday?...Thanks, Cid. This means a lot to us," Cloud turned to Tifa, "It's Cid. He said he should have Aeris' braces ready by her birthday."

Tifa smiled hugely, "Really? That's fantastic! Thank you Cid!" she called, "And the crutches have come in already?" she asked Cloud.

Cloud nodded.

Tifa smiled and clasped her hands together, "Our little girl is going to walk, Cloud."

Cloud chuckled, his eyes bright, "I know."

* * *

December continued with the promise of Christmas in the forefront of the children's minds. With the decorations up and the tree done, it truly felt like the holidays. It was at times like this though that Tifa thought of Zell. Her and Cloud's first attempt at parenting. She would often talk with Cloud about the excitable baby boy and wonder how he was doing. He should be about 16 or 17 years old by now. Tifa laughed. She was getting older herself at 39, and don't even mention Cloud's 40th birthday party. Tifa was finding more white hairs lately when she brushed her hair, too. It was actually one of her favorite activities to have her children pluck the grays. It was very relaxing and was basically a free head massage. Tifa had noticed that Cloud's hair had too grown less vibrantly gold as he aged. His sideburns were totally white now. He had laughed when he found his first white hair and had plucked and shown it to Tifa and said, "I guess even heroes aren't immune to time," to which Tifa had laughed and shown a tiny white patch that was growing in near the top of her scalp and said, "You probably have more, but it's hiding in the blond," to which Cloud chuckled again and said, "We're getting old. Who would have thought we'd have the luxury?"

Maybe Tifa could write to Edea and see who Zell had been adopted by. Obviously a boy that charming wouldn't still be in the orphanage. Tifa had also wanted to send the boy a Christmas or birthday present ever since she gave him up. As the days grew closer to Christmas, Cloud and Tifa's three biological children grew proportionally more well behaved, and by the 23rd they were all perfect little angels. Well, almost.

"Mommy?" Aeris asked that evening.

Tifa knelt down, "Yes?"

"If I'm good, can I open one of my presentsch tomorrow? Pretty pleassh?" Aeris blinked her big green eyes at her mother.

Tifa smiled and smoothed Aeris' dark wavy hair (where the waves came from, Tifa had no idea, but they were so pretty. She had entertained the notion that the curls came from Aeris' name), "We'll see. But I get to choose the present."

Aeris beamed and hugged her mom around the neck, "Yay! Thank you!"

* * *

The next day, the whole house was abuzz with the knowledge of fun and presents. The family went down the street to visit Barret before getting some other things done around the city. Zack got his cane out of his pocket and Aeris and Angeal made sure their transport help was ready to go before the family left. Angeal was slightly lopsided because he needed to have his prosthetic readjusted, which Barret would take care of that day.

Cloud walked in Barret's shop and shouted over the noise, "Barret! We're here!"

The noise stopped and a gray-haired Barret emerged. He had gained weight in the past few years, but hadn't lost but a small percentage of his previous strength. He wiped his hands free of oil and scooped Aeris up and set her on his shoulder, much like he would do with Marlene when she was Aeris' age. Aeris laughed and flopped over Barret's head and sang, "Uncle Barret! Uncle Barret!"

"Hey, guys! Ya'll here to get Angeal evened out?" Barret asked, knocking said boy in the arm.

Angeal nodded, "Yeah, I'm lopsided again."

Zack shoved his brother, "You're always lopsided!" he laughed.

Angeal shoved Zack back, "At least I can see where I'm going!"

"Boys," Tifa warned.

Zack scratched the back of his head, "Heh heh…sorry, Mom…"

Angeal started looking around and admiring items in Barret's shop.

Tifa patted Zack on the head and played with his hair.

"Alrigh', son," Barret set Aeris back in her chair and turned to Angeal, "Let's getchu all fixed up. DENZEL! GEDDOWN HERE!"

Zack jumped and covered his ears. A moment later, Denzel rushed into the room, wiping grease off his hands, "Yeah?" the fuzzy 22-year-old asked.

"I wantchu to work on Angeal's leg this time. You been watchin' me for years. That alright with you Teef? Cloud?"

Cloud shrugged, "I don't see why not."

Tifa nodded her head, "Absolutely. Is it okay with you, Angeal? And Denzel, you really should shave. You look homeless."

Denzel sighed, "Tifa…"

"I don't want you looking like that in our Christmas pictures. Shave."

Cloud snickered quietly. Tifa was pulling the "Mom" voice on Denzel again, and Tifa hated facial hair. The only time Cloud could grow his beard out was when he was on a long delivery (which were becoming rarer the older he got) and he had to shave as soon as he got home or Tifa wouldn't even give him a "Welcome back" kiss.

"Barret gets to have a beard," Denzel countered.

Tifa put her hands on her hips, "Barret is older than me and would look weird without one."

Barret laughed loudly.

"But-"

"Shave or I won't let you in Christmas pictures."

Cloud knew fully well that Tifa wouldn't cut Denzel out from the photos, but he didn't say anything.

Denzel rubbed his growing beard sadly, "Alright."

Cloud and Barret shot each other smirks. Works every time.

Angeal played with the gap between his two fingers on his disfigured hand like he did when he thought about something. Denzel had made a lot of really cool things before, but Barret had always fixed his leg. He nodded, "Yeah, that's fine. Denzel can fix my leg."

Barret smiled, the wrinkles on his face deepening, "There's a good boy!" he thumped Angeal on the shoulder, then looked over at Cloud and Tifa, "You guys got 'is measurements?"

Tifa pulled a slip of paper out of her bag and handed it to Barret, "Yup, here you go. When should you two be done?"

Barret pointed over his shoulder at Denzel, "Denz hasn't worked with prosthetics yet, so it'll take him a while, then I have to make sure he did a good job, so it'll take a bit longer than usual. How 'bout…give or take 4 hours? Can you handle crutches that long, Ange?"

Angeal nodded, "Yeah, I'll be fine," he sat down in a chair and disconnected his leg and removed the middle piece from his stump. He handed the parts to Barret, who handed them to Denzel, who immediately left to get started. Cloud lent a hand to get Angeal to his foot and keep him balanced until Tifa got the crutches from Barret.

With crutches securely under Angeal's arms, the Strife family headed out to get their errands done. However, as usual while out of the house, the Strife family got plenty of strange or sympathetic looks from strangers, but that went largely ignored by everyone but Aeris.

"Daddy, why do people keep looking over here?" the girl asked, leaning backward and looking up into her father's face.

Cloud maneuvered the chair over a ridge in the sidewalk, "Because they see a lot of weird hair and good-lookin' kids."

Aeris kept her voice low to no one could hear her trouble with "S"s, "It's becaushe we need help, izn't it? People alwaysh look like they feel sch- bad for our family."

Tifa rubbed her daughter's head. Aeris was too smart sometimes, "That's part of it, too, honey. But don't worry about what they think. People will always look at whoever looks a little bit different."

Angeal hopped forward and turned to face his sister, "Just pretend like you're famous and they wish they could get your autograph."

"But they can't," Zack continued, "Because they're just normal people."

"So they can only stare and hope that you'll look at them." Angeal finished with a smile and raised his 3-fingered hand, "I'm Alien Lord Goomplank."

"I'm Donatello! Leader of the Ninja Turtles!"

Aeris laughed and gave a regal wave to the common folk. "I'm Aeris`. Enough ssaid."

That evening, Cloud saw Tifa going through her old fighting gloves. He scoffed, "What're you going through those old things for?"

"I couldn't reach Edea, but I figured out where Zell is. I talked with his mother a bit and apparently he's in training to become some sort of "SeeD" cadet, and prefers to fight with his fists. I thought I would send him a Christmas present."

"You found who adopted Zell?!" Cloud sat down next to Tifa, "How in the name of Gaia did you manage that?"

"I have connections," Tifa said with a smile, "Zell's mother is a sweet woman named Carla Dincht. She offered to let us come by and see Zell again."

Cloud's eyebrows rose, "Really?" he paused, "Do you think we should? There's no chance that he would even remotely remember us."

"I know, and I told his mother that, but she offered to introduce us as old friends of hers after I told her about our relationship to Zell. She also asked if we had anything of Zelda's that we could give to her and Zell."

"Uh…" Cloud scratched his head, "Didn't Zelda like to knit? Do we have any of the stuff she made still?"

"Probably. I was going to send it with the gloves…how about my old Kaiser Knuckles? They were some of my favorites," she reminisced with a laugh.

"Ugh, I remember the bruises you gave me with those sparring. They're perfect," Cloud rubbed his arm.

There was a knock on the door and Zack's voice sounded up, "Can we open a present? Aeris has been bothering me and Angeal to ask you for an hour."

Tifa looked over at Cloud, "You wanna go down?"

Cloud nodded, "Sure."

Once everyone was together, Tifa carefully picked out one present for each of her children. They all sat the boxes in their laps excitedly. Aeris shook her noisy mystery gift and started tearing the paper off of her shoebox before exclaiming jokingly, "I got shhoess!" She opened the box and exclaimed at the box full of stickers, small jewelry, and little trinkets. "They're ssso pretty! Thank you!"

Tifa smiled. Cloud ruffled Aeris' hair.

"Daaaaaddyyyy…"

Cloud got a quarter and looked at his sons, "Heads or tails?"

"Tails!" Zack yelped.

"Heads." Angeal grinned.

Cloud flipped the coin and slapped it down on the back of his hand. He uncovered his hand and looked at the circle of fate. "Zack, go ahead."

"Yes!" Zack tore into his package and opened the shoebox. He reached inside and pulled out the figurine. His jaw dropped when he grabbed onto a turtle shell. He searched for the hero's weapon to identify which TMNT toy he got, "Donatello!" he exclaimed excitedly. "Thank you!" he carefully started working the plastic ninja turtle out of its case.

Angeal rolled his eyes. "You're so immature." He took his present and smiled at his parents before ripping the brightly colored paper off.

"Awhoa-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho! This is AWESOME!" Angeal removed the alien mask from the box and pulled it over his head. He held up his right hand and wiggled his fingers, "TAKE ME TO YOUR LEA-DER."

"I'm immature?" Zack wrinkled his nose at his brother while Aeris chortled into her sticker-covered hands. Angeal stuck his tongue out at Zack and Aeris, but the mask only showed the narrowing of his eyes.

"Alright. It's time for bed." Cloud plucked Aeris out of her chair and she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Go brush your teeth." Tifa stood and stretched.

Once all three children were sound asleep, Cloud and Tifa took on the roles of Mr. and Mrs. Clause. They arranged the three big gifts and filled the stockings and carefully laid out the smaller gifts around the fireplace before turning in for the night.

* * *

Merry Christmas even though Thanksgiving is next week! I couldn't wait to upload this. I'm sorry if I put it online a tad early :P Happy National Turkey Day!


	6. Baby Mine

Baby Mine

* * *

"Mama?" Aeris wheeled herself into Cloud and Tifa's office.

"Yeah, sweetie?" Tifa turned her chair and looked at her daughter, "Do you need help with something?"

The small girl dropped her gaze and twiddled her fingers, "Um…can we move where Zack and Angeal won't hear? Or Daddy?"

Tifa's brow furrowed and she stood to meet her daughter, "Sure."

* * *

Tifa waited for Aeris to move and sit on her bed before sitting herself, "Is something wrong?"

"Um…" the kindergartener turned her gaze downward and bit her lip.

"Aeris?" Tifa rubbed the girl's knee, "You know you can talk to me about anything, right?"

A nod, "Uh huh… it'sh only… I don't like talking about it…"

"About what?" Tifa wondered if Aeris had had an accident when she was sleeping.

"There are a few children at ssschool…"

Tifa's face fell. She would have preferred bed-wetting. "Is someone bullying you?"

"Um… I don't really know…"

"What do you mean you don't know?"

"Well, they're polite schom-… occash-… not often." Aeris found and picked at a thread on her sleeve.

"Do they say mean things? Or do they hit you?"

"They mostly ush vocabulary…" she coughed.

"Like what?"

"Like-" Aeris rubbed her eye, "Why do I go to a school f-for normal children? Or that I talk like a baby becaush I can't sssay "esh", or that I schould just have my legs taken off because they're br-oken." She coughed again and rubbed her eyes. It wasn't hard for Tifa to see the girl's tears.

Her heart broke in two. How dare those rotten kids pick on her baby! "Oh, honey… you don't believe the things they say, do you?"

Aeris coughed out a sob, but remained quiet otherwise.

Tifa pulled her girl into her lap and held her tight. "Don't you believe a word those kids say. They're just trying to be mean. I know it's really hard to believe me, but try, ok? And talk to me or Daddy whenever you want to."

The 4-year-old shook her head, "Du- Daddy will go to sschool and t-tattle."

"Alright. But you can still talk to me, ok? And if you ever want, me and Daddy can go and talk with Ms. Reyes for you."

Aeris nodded and snuggled into Tifa.

Tifa looked sadly at the child in her arms for a moment. "You know what I used to do for your brothers when they got picked on?"

"They got picked on, too?"

Tifa nodded.

"…What did you do?"

"Well, there's a song from a really old movie that I would sing for them. You wanna hear?"

"Mhmm," Aeris nodded.

"Okay. Let me remember how it starts, real quick… ah,

Baby mine, don't you cry. Baby mine, dry your eyes. Rest your head close to my heart, never to part, baby of mine. Little one when you play, don't you mind what they say. Let those eyes sparkle and shine, never a tear, baby of mine." Tifa gave Aeris a kiss on the forehead, "If they knew sweet little you, they'd end up loving you too. All those same people who scold you. What they'd give just for the right to hold you. From your head to your toes you're so sweet, goodness knows. You are so precious to me. Cute as can be, baby of mine. Baby mine. Baby mine."

Aeris giggled softly, "You called them cute?"

"Of course. All of my babies are cute. Right, cutie?" Tifa nuzzled the top of Aeris' head.

Zack popped his head in the door, "I heard you singing our song, Mom. You okay, Aeris?"

Aeris nodded, "Yeah. Mommy helped. But don't tell Daddy. He'll be schad he didn't hear Mommy sssinging."

Angeal's face appeared from the other side of the door, "So you're fine, Aeris?"

"Angeal, I already told Zack I wash fine! Now go away. Mommy'sh mine right now and you can't have her."

Tifa laughed, furrowed her brow, and rubbed Aeris' head. "There's more than enough of me to share, sweetie."

Zack shook his head, "No, it's okay. C'mon, Angeal! I heard Dad's bike the next block over. We could ambush- I mean- greet him at the door if we go now!"

Angeal grinned, "Alright."

The two boys glanced at their smirking mother before smiling back and racing to the garage door. Tifa looked back down at Aeris. "Feel better?"

"Yeah. Thank you, Mama. But I wanna ssit a bit longer."

"Okay, baby."

Tifa and Aeris listened as Cloud's bike pulled near the house and grinned at each other as it shut off. A moment later the door opened and Zack and Angeal pounced. Tifa jumped to her feet and ran into the kitchen with Aeris when a loud series of crashes followed the ambush.

The two boys and their father were in a heap on the floor surrounded by boxes, broken dishware, and groceries. Cloud eyed his sons darkly.

"Clean this up. Now."

"It was Zack's fault! He knocked me into the cabinet!" Angeal yelped.

Cloud stood. "Did I ask whose fault it was?"

"No sir…" Angeal helped his brother to his feet. Zack hissed and recoiled his arm from Angeal's grip.

Tifa sighed, "Cloud, could you take Aeris while I get Zack's arm cleaned up?"

"Sure. C'mere, sweet girl," he took the curly-headed girl and left to get her chair.

"I thought I told you boys not to be excessively rough. Over here, Zack."

"Sorry, Mom," both boys mumbled. Zack held his cut arm and followed Tifa to the medicine cabinet.

"It's okay. It's kind of my fault, too." Tifa smirked, "Did you hear your dad yelp when you mauled him, though?"

Zack and Angeal snickered and nodded. Tifa finished getting Zack cleaned up and set him to help his brother clean.


	7. Meeting Zell Dincht

Sorry about the long delay in posting anything, but I've been really busy with college and whatnot. I've been sitting on this one for a while, so I hope you all like it!

* * *

Meeting Zell Dincht

* * *

Cloud looked back at Tifa once more before knocking on the door in the tiny coastal town.

"Just a minute!" a woman called from inside. The door opened to reveal a small portly woman with long brown hair pulled into a ponytail. "Are you Mr. and Mrs. Strife?" she asked in a thick Galbadian accent.

Cloud nodded.

Carla Dincht smiled broadly and stepped away from the door, "Come in, come in! Have a seat! ZELL! Finish getting dressed and get down here! There are some friends of mine I want you to meet!"

"A'right, Ma!" a young man's voice called down from upstairs. Tifa stared up the stairs until Cloud tugged her elbow. Tifa blinked and followed him and Mrs. Dincht into the small living room.

After everyone took a seat around the table, Carla smiled at her guests, "You go ahead and call me Carla. Do you mind if I call you by your first names after I introduce you to Zell? He might think it odd if we treat each other formally."

Cloud looked over at Tifa again, who was staring down into her lap, before looking back at Mrs. Dincht, "We don't mind."

"Good! Let me put some tea on. ZELL! Get down here!" she called as she moved to the kitchen.

"Coming!" a pair of feet stomped down the stairs loudly and landed with a loud thump on the first floor. Cloud glanced through the open house and looked at the muscular young man who had just clambered down the stairs. He gave Carla a hug and peered over her shoulder at what she was doing. His hair was a light blond spiked up at the front, he wore a blue and red jacket and knee length baggy denim shorts with red and black sneakers. Cloud tapped Tifa on the shoulder but she wouldn't look up.

"Zell, these are old friends of mine, Mr. and Mrs. Strife. Tifa, are you okay?" Carla walked back into the living room with Zell in tow and looked worriedly at the small brunette.

Cloud glanced over at Tifa once more before looking up at Carla and Zell, "She's, uh, shy around new people."

Zell picked through Cloud's accent for a second. "Aw, don't worry Ms. Strife, I'm real easy to get along with!" he assured before plopping down into a chair and scooting over so his mother could sit, "Hmph, despite what his lordliness says," he added with a laugh. "I've got this friend, Squall, who's way less refined than he'd like you to think!"

Tifa forced a laugh and cleared her throat. Zell leaned his head to the side and furrowed his brow. He looked at Cloud. "Is she okay?"

Cloud nodded. "So…How have you been lately- Carla?"

"Oh, I've been good! Balamb has been a lot calmer after Zell and his friends got back with the garden. Who would have thought it could move, huh?"

"Uh, yeah?" Cloud had no idea what Carla just said. What could move on its own? A garden? Cloud pictured Aeris' garden on Cid's airship piloting itself. "It must be a pretty impressive garden."

Zell beamed and puffed his chest out proudly, "Oh, yeah! The best on the planet if you ask me!"

Cloud nodded, though he knew no one could beat any garden that Aeris tended. You just can't beat an Ancient in terms of anything connected to the Planet. "What do you grow there?"

The boy blinked, "Uh…soldiers?" he leaned his head to the side again. "You're not from around here, are you?"

Cloud shook his head, "We're from the southeastern continent."

"Oh, cool. ...Seriously, is she okay?"

Tifa carefully looked up at Zell, "I'm fine." Her eyes widened when she saw her boy, "What did you do to your face?!" she cried as she reached across the table and turned his left cheek towards her, "When did he do this?" she asked Carla frantically.

"Dude, what the hell?!" Zell snapped his chin out of Tifa's fingers and leaned back, "What's it matter to you?!"

Tifa blinked and Cloud silently pulled her arm back across the table. Tifa babbled quietly, "Sorry. I'm sorry, Zell."

Zell looked over at his mother confusedly. Carla was silent. Zell looked back at Cloud and Tifa. "Who are you?" He wondered in the very back of his mind if these were his parents. They were the right age. And the guy had hair kinda like his. And that letter with the gloves he had gotten for Christmas last year…

The tea kettle went off and Carla stood hurriedly, "Oh! Looks like the tea's done!" she stood and hustled to the kitchen to stop the screaming pot.

Zell looked at Cloud and Tifa suspiciously, "So-"

"Zell, could you come help me, please?" Carla called.

The teen glanced back towards the kitchen, "Uh. Yeah! Coming, Ma!" he glanced at Tifa, who's head was bent low, then over at Cloud, who glanced up and met Zell's piercing blue eyes with his own equally striking blue-green ones before quickly turning back to his wife and talking in a low voice. Zell frowned and exited the living room.

* * *

"Hey, Ma?" Zell walked into the small kitchen and accepted a tray with several cups of tea sitting on it.

"Yeah, sweetheart?" Mrs. Dincht grabbed a plate from the cabinet and started getting some bread and biscuits from the small pantry.

"Ya know how I'm adopted?"

Carla stopped what she was doing and looked over at her son with an overly-shocked expression, "_What?" _she gasped. "Oh my goodness, why did no one _tell_ me this? No wonder you don't have my coloring!"

Zell snickered, "Shut up, you know what I meant. What I was trying to ask was if those two were really old friends of yours."

Mrs. Dincht's face relaxed from its previous flabbergasted state, "Of course they are, Zell. I've known Cloud and Tifa for quite a while."

"Really?" Zell peeked around the corner and looked into the sitting room, where he could see their strange visitors, "Because I was wondering if you knew that I knew, er, thought, that they knew that- wait-" Zell started drawing in the air to try and find where he had been, "That they knew that you knew that I didn't know…and I didn't know? Don't?" Zell's talking hands paused in the web they were drawing as the blond completely lost his train of thought, "That someone knew… Uh… Oh, whatever! Are they my parents?"

Mrs. Dincht's face softened. "That's really not my place to say, honey. If you want to know, then you should go and ask Cloud and Tifa." She took her son and hugged him tightly, "But just so you know, you're still mine whether or not they're yours."

Zell laughed, even if he was suddenly more nervous than he had ever been in his life. He wrapped his arms tightly around his mother. "Thanks, Ma." When his mom released him from her death hug, he balanced the tray on an arm and scrubbed his eyes before walking back into the living room with the tea.

Once everyone was sitting back at the table and Carla had put some music on for background noise, Zell cleared his throat importantly. Cloud looked over at the boy with a raised eyebrow and Tifa looked up from her lap. Carla sat next to Zell and looked over at him.

"I was just wondering if…ah…uh, weeeeeell… do you like the tea?" he asked meekly, gesturing to the cups in front of everyone. Tifa looked at Zell's furrowed brows and the way he chewed on his lip. She hated that she and Cloud were making him so uncomfortable.

But she smiled warmly, "The tea's lovely. Thank you, Zell. Do you always help your mother this much?"

Zell stared into his plate of biscuits until Carla kicked him lightly in the shin. "Huh? Oh. Yeah. I usually help around when I'm home…but you know… I didn't always live with Ma, actually, and, uh. You know I was actually adopted? And I sorta got this weird Christmas present last year and was, um…" the boy's voice faded quickly into silence.

Mrs. Dincht nudged Zell when he faltered, "Go on."

Cloud and Tifa looked sadly at each other, knowing full well what he was wanting to ask.

Zell leaned far back in his chair until his mom pulled him back onto all four feet. He glanced up at Cloud and Tifa, "I was wondering if you, um. This is going to sound crazy, but… Are you my parents?" he searched their faces for anything that might be a 'Yes, and we've missed you so much,' but most of what he was finding was sorrow. Had he been mistaken?

Cloud turned to Tifa, who was looking sadly at Zell. Tifa shook her head, "No, Zell. We're not your parents," she clarified sadly.

Zell's face fell, "Oh. Just forget I asked, the-"

"But you are like a son to us." Cloud interrupted. He paused and cleared his throat and leaned back in his chair awkwardly, glancing to Tifa to explain. Zell furrowed his brow.

Tifa looked away from Cloud to Zell, tucking her streaked black hair behind her ear. "Um. It's kind of a long story, Zell. I'll only tell it if you want to hear it and if you have time."

"I've got time."

Tifa nodded and started from when she met Zelda while out around Edge. She told Zell how his grandmother had fallen into Tifa's care and everything that she had known about the woman. She told him how unhealthily tiny Zell himself had been at their meeting, how everyone had spent their time together with him, and how much everyone around him had quickly come to love him. She told him of how Deepground suddenly attacked, and of simply never finding Zelda in the chaos. Of the safehouse they had hidden in for several weeks, and then of the long trip to an isolated orphanage that their friend Vincent had known about. Cloud added various small details that Tifa missed throughout her narrative, and Zell drank in every word, eyes wide.

After Tifa told Zell about leaving him at the orphanage, he looked her in the eye. "Okay…so you're not my parents. But why did you give me up? Did you not want me?"

Tifa's brow furrowed, "Please don't think that we didn't want you, Zell. It broke out hearts to leave you there. It's just that our lives were so chaotic that we had no choice but to put you in safer care. The chances that you would die if we kept you were just too high, and by the time we thought you were old enough to be able to take care of yourself if the danger became great again, you had already been adopted. Thank our lucky stars your mom is such a great person, huh?"

Carla laughed, "Yeah, Zell. You saying you'd rather I not be your mother?" she joked.

Zell scratched his head, "Heh, I guess not. You are pretty awesome, after all."

"I try."

Cloud looked at Tifa and gave a slight smile, which was returned in kind. Tifa turned back to Zell "Is there anything else you'd like to know? About yourself or Zelda or us or anything?"

"Sure. Um… oh! Did you know my old last name? I mean, I'm 'Dincht' now, but I wasn't at first, right? Unless I'm, like, Ma's nephew or something." Zell chortled to himself and his mom knocked him in the head.

Tifa laughed, "Your old last name was Taber."

"Taber…huh. I like Dincht better, but Taber isn't bad."

Cloud scoffed. "I see."

Zell looked over at Cloud, "How come you got so quiet after Ms. Strife, er, do you want me to call you something else? But why'd you get so quiet after she opened up?"

Tifa shook her head, "You can call me Tifa, Ms. Strife, or whatever feels right to you. And you don't have to choose right away if you don't know." She smiled mischievously, "And he's shy around new people."

Cloud rolled his eyes, "Well, excuse me, Tifa."

Tifa laughed to herself.

Zell tapped his chin for a moment, "Oh, I got one! Do I have any siblings? Well, I mean, not _actual_ siblings, but if you two have kids, that would sorta make them siblings, right? Maybe not. I'm not really sure, actually…" Zell tried to figure it out, then shook his head, shrugged, and discarded the thought bubble.

Cloud nodded, "We have two sons and a daughter. They can be your siblings if you want."

"Although I'm not sure if Angeal would appreciate not being the oldest anymore."

"Zack would think it's funny," Cloud added.

Zell smiled at his ma, who chuckled and shook her head, "I know how cross you are about Squall not letting you be a big-brother figure."

"I'm older than him and we're good friends! I thought he would make a good little brother! Besides, I've kicked him into gear more times than I can count."

"That's because you can't count," a new voice cut in somewhat harshly.

Everyone turned towards the open window by the front door to see a fluffy, brunette, young man scowling in at Zell.

"Squall! What're you doin' here?" Zell hollered before jogging to get the door.

"Rinoa says Selphie got from Irvine who heard from Quistis that Zalera's looking for you."

"Oh! Tell her I'm at my house!"

Squall crossed his arms as his scowl deepened. "No. When I get back to garden, I'm staying in one place," the tall boy growled, "I've been running around looking for you for two hours. I'm not about to locate your girlfriend for you." He looked over Zell's shoulder and made a small bow to the adults in the other room, "Hello, Ms. Dincht."

Zell twisted and looked behind him at the living room before turning back and smirking at his friend, "Don't forget the honorable guests, Squall. You don't want to be rude."

Squall shot a look at Zell and turned to leave, but before he could even finish turning, Zell grabbed his wrist and yanked him towards the living room, "Wait, you gotta meet these two! They're the ones who took care of me before I was sent to Edea's!" Zell pulled again and the tall, black-clad teen stumbled into the living room before he was able to snatch his wrist out of Zell's grip. The adults stopped the conversation they had struck up while Zell was talking with Squall and turned to the two teens.

"Uh…hi…" Squall looked somewhat uncomfortably at the two strangers. Why did things like this always happen when Zell was involved in anything?

"This is Squall," Zell introduced, "He's one of my friends at Balamb. He was at Edea's house at the same time as me."

Tifa gasped, "Cloud, he's that little baby we saw with...umb," she snapped her fingers several times while she searched her memory,"With, um, Ellone!"

Cloud huffed a laugh and shook his head in disbelief.

At Ellone's mention, Squall perked up, "You know Ellone?"

Tifa shook her head, "No, but the day we got to Edea's house we ran into a little girl and her baby brother. She told us her name was Ellone and that the baby's name was Squall. I thought you just shared a name until Zell said you went to Edea's house as well. I never thought you would be the same person."

Squall crossed his arms and looked away from the group. Tifa raised her eyebrows. Had she offended him?

Zell abruptly burst into laughter, "You embarrassed, Squall? Mr. and Mrs. Strife saw us both as cute little poopey babies. That basically makes them our family."

"Whatever." Squall shook his head and made his way to the door. "Just remember to go find Zalera. It was nice meeting you, Mr. and Mrs. Strife." Squall gave another small bow and left with his thumbs tucked loosely in his pockets.

Zell rolled his eyes, "You get used to him, I promise."

Tifa smiled and laced her fingers together, "You have a girlfriend, Zell?"

Zell blinked before breaking into a grin, "Yeah. She works at the library at the garden. She's super cute and one of the nicest people I've met. I should probably get going, though. Don't wanna keep her waiting!"

Tifa shook her head, "Of course, go right ahead. We'll be in town for a couple days, so we should have as much time to catch up as we need."

Zell nodded, a smile lighting his face once again, before standing and trotting out of the house.

Carla finished waving and turned to Cloud and Tifa, "So how'd I do? Do I win 'Mom of the Year'?"

Tifa smiled, "He's such a sweet boy, Carla. And so well-mannered."

Carla laughed, "I don't know about well-mannered, but he means well."

Cloud gave a small smile, "I could sense that."

"Hey," Carla asked about Cloud and Tifa's three children and the trio of adults became quick friends as their conversation branched out and continued into the evening.

* * *

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed Cloud, Tifa, and Zell's get-together!


End file.
